Day 6: Wine
by Silverskygazer
Summary: Day 6 of the 12 days of Alumaria Maria intends to bring some heat back into Alucard's cold bones with a special recipe, but unfortunately ends up ever so slightly ahead of herself.


A sweet scent filled the air and the soft light of the fire illuminated the small cottage Maria Renard called home. A soft smile played upon her lips as she mulled wine. The days had been growing cold and the nights colder as the chill of winter approached, and she had noticed that even Alucard had been feeling the effects.

He was already cold to the touch, Maria had come to know at least this much already. She had thought that perhaps some mulled wine would be just what he needed to bring some warmth back into his freezing body.

Tentatively, she filled a mug to taste the results of her hard work, gently blowing on the steaming beverage so as not to burn her mouth. As the wine passed her lips, the taste of the spices, particularly cinnamon brought a certain warmth to her that spread throughout her body and the sweetness of the wine itself had Maria wanting more. She smiled triumphantly, she was certain that the Dhampir would appreciate this gesture when he returned and she knew that she had made plenty, so one or two more cups certainly couldn't hurt.

The son of Dracula's mood was sombre; he had just set down fresh flowers at the grave of his mother, which he himself had personally seen to the restoration of. A wistful sigh escaped his lips as snow began to fall around him. Memories of his childhood resurfaced, the warmth of his mother's hand, the way that his mother encouraged both he and his father into freshly fallen snow in times long past and the way they had reclined in front of the fire afterwards. It was a much simpler time then and perhaps, he thought, if he must dwell on any memories of his father, he should take Maria's advice and focus only on the happy times. He cast his gaze skyward, crossing his arms in an attempt to lessen the bite of the winter wind upon him and decided that it would be best to return home, lest the weather get worse. If he had remained here any longer, Maria would worry.

Adopting his bat form, the dhampir ascended slowly into the air, each flap of his leathery wings obscured by the howl of the wind. The elements did him little favour as hail began to rain down from the heavens above, stinging his flesh. He let out a frustrated sigh and shot off south towards the cottage he shared with Maria. He had not seen much of her today and that filled him with an unease he could not easily describe.

As his home came into view, Alucard descended, and reverted to his humanoid form, landing silently in the freshly fallen snow outside the cottage. The snowfall had become much gentler as he approached the door and clung to his hair. Inhaling deeply, Alucard pushed open the door and closed it behind him. The gentle glow of a fire lit their home as the soft sound of laughter filled his ears. Gingerly, he moved towards the source of the laughter and found that, rather unsurprisingly, it belonged to Maria.

The blonde vampire huntress almost didn't notice Alucard come in until he was standing right next to her. She looked up towards him and then simply looked back to her cup before rubbing her eyes to make sure it was truly him. When she was certain of this, she gasped loudly, as if suddenly surprised by his return.

"Maria? Are you alright?" Alucard asked, somewhat unused to seeing Maria in such a state. She looked straight into his eyes and he took a moment to look her over. She looked to be the same Maria he always knew, but something seemed different about her, he could sense it, but he was not yet able to put his finger on it.

"Alucard? Welcome home." Maria greeted the dhampir with a warm smile. "You look cold!"

He crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, as if to dismiss her claim that he was any colder than he was comfortable admitting.

"I'm fine, Maria, there is no need to concern yourself over this." He stated dryly, before Maria withdrew a mug from the table and pushed it into his hands.

"Drink." She commanded. He looked into the mug and back at her, almost nervously.

"Pardon?" He responded, taken somewhat aback by her sudden assertiveness. She pushed the drink against him once more.

"Drink!" She insisted. Somewhat exasperated by this, Alucard complied and took a cursory sip of the unknown drink. It was sweet and warm and laced with winter spices. The Dhampir's eyes widened in surprise at the pleasant taste and the sudden warmth that began to spread through his body, warming him down to his bones. He glanced to Maria, who was drinking deeply from a mug of her own.

"This is… delicious, Maria." Alucard admitted after a short pause, looking up from his own mug and towards Maria. Her face was far redder than normal and the way she looked at him, while still as warm as it normally was, had a certain different quality to it. She smiled widely at him and moved closer to him. She reached a hand out and ran a hand through his hair and he recoiled at the sudden contact.

"You had some snow in your hair still." Maria stated outright. Alucard put a hand to the top of his head and found that indeed, some snow was still caught in his hair. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to Maria.

He glanced back to her and found her still staring at him. He was unsure what sensation was running through his body right now but there was something about the way Maria looked upon him that made his pulse quicken, if ever so slightly.

"…Is something the matter, Maria? You've been looking at me for quite some time now." He inquired. Maria simply grinned wider and started laughing warmly. She leaned closer to him again and whispered into his ear.

"I like your silly hair. And your fancy cloak. And you have nice eyes." She whispered sweetly. Alucard's eyes widened and his face took on a slight tint of crimson. As Maria took a step back, she began laughing and Alucard inhaled deeply, before noticing a slight alteration in the scent of Maria's blood.

Immediately he realised that she had drank one too many mugs of mulled wine. She was never this forward with him, not that he had noticed at the very least and her inebriated state explained her behaviour at the very least.

He could not, however, understand why she made a point to try and climb upon their table. This behaviour was entirely new to him. He had seen Trevor Belmont get significantly more drunk hundreds of years ago, but never seen him climb upon a table. Maria made awkward, unflinching eye contact with the Dhampir and took a deep breath in.

"Just like the wind, I've always been drifting high up in the sky that never ends!~" Maria began to sing, far louder than she seemed to be aware of. Her voice was clear, much like a bell and Alucard could at the very least appreciate her ability, even if he did wince slightly at her volume. "Through thick and thin, I always win, 'cause I would fight both life and death to save a friend.~"

Alucard noticed Maria's footing would cause her to trip if she continued and would have her injure herself. Quickly, he stood from his chair and in one fluid motion, picked Maria up from the table and slung her over his shoulder. Maria squirmed around wildly for a few moments but settled down as he began to move.

"Oh my, oh my…. How bold of you." Maria laughed teasingly as Alucard began to carry her towards her room. His face flushed ever so slightly at her implication, but such an event would never be his intent. No, for now, Maria needed to sleep and work the alcohol out of her system.

"It is time for you to go to bed, Maria." He stated dryly as he hauled her inebriated form towards her bedroom, stopping just short of the door.

"But Alucard, how can I go to bed when I am the wind?" the drunk huntress slurred.

Alucard paused for a moment as he placed his free hand on Maria's bedroom door.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find a way, Maria. After all, the wind ceases to blow at times, does it not?" he chuckled, as he pushed lightly on Maria's bedroom door.

As Alucard entered Maria's room with her in tow, he glanced around her bedchamber, noting that her own personal living space was very distinctly different from his own. Her room was well-furnished, tastefully decorated and significantly brighter in colour than Alucard's own. He found her bed, pushed flush towards the wall. Beautiful curtains were draped over the canopy of the bed and Alucard found himself appreciating the aesthetic of her bedroom as if it were a painting. Compared to his own simple dwelling, Maria lived within a work of art.

He approached the bed and set Maria gently down onto the mattress, Maria gripping onto his sleeve as he did so. She grinned widely at him, eyes half-lidded.

"Goodness, Alucard, even you must not be blind to the significance of laying a lady to rest upon her own bed." She chuckled drunkenly. Alucard flushed crimson at her statement and turned away, that he might save some element of face and coughed, attempting to clear his throat and regain his composure.

"…Go to sleep, Maria. The hour is late." He insisted, voice an octave higher than he had intended as a result of his embarrassment. Maria pulled on his sleeve with an unexpected force that spun him back around to face her.

"Booo!" she pouted, before pausing for the briefest of moments to think. She gazed back up at the dhampir, who was struggling not to look directly at her. "I'll go to sleep on one condition…. No! Wait! Two!"

Alucard pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, Maria was stubborn, this much he had known, but he hadn't expected for her to be quite this bad with a little bit of alcohol in her.

He sighed, audibly exasperated by Maria's saucy behaviour. "…Name your terms."

"Tell me a story!" She replied immediately with not an ounce of hesitation. This much seemed at the very least, something resembling reasonable.

"As you wish." Alucard complied, dragging a nearby chair to her bedside. Maria seemed to glance away with something resembling embarrassment, which struck the half-blood as odd given how forward she had been before. "And the second condition? What is that?"

"I want…. I want a kiss goodnight!" Maria stated. Alucard's eyes widened in response, this much he had not anticipated, not even in his wildest of dreams.  
"P-pardon?"

"A kiss goodnight! I won't sleep without one!"

The dhampir shook his head in refusal as he sat beside Maria and cleared his throat.  
"You're no fun!" She pouted and rolled onto her side to face him. "Fine, at the very least tell me a story!"

Alucard took a moment, to ponder his options. Certainly, he had lived quite a long life, but his actual number of experiences were small given his long slumber, and the number of tales he had to tell that Maria did not yet know of him were small. When he looked around her room once more and saw all of the furniture, he thought back to his own room, and the furniture there, or rather, where it was purchased and inspiration struck him.

"Very well, Maria, very well. As you wish. You recall that we visited the city of Gresit a month or so after we began to live here, yes?" He inquired softly. Maria yawned and nodded. "There once was a legend associated with the city. Many hundreds of years ago. A legend known even to someone who did not live there, such as myself. They spoke of a sleeping soldier. A legendary warrior slumbering deep beneath the city, who was destined to awaken in a time of great peril, where darkness covered the land and the very forces of evil itself threatened to destroy everything, and who would be assisted in his task by two more heroes, a magician and…." Alucard stopped short, not because he had forgotten how the story ended, he could not forget that even if he tried. No, it was the sight of Maria, now asleep, slumbering deeply and peacefully. The dhampir sighed in relief. He had already experienced too much that reminded him of his past and his companions when he considered Maria's earlier behaviour. He couldn't, however, simply leave her. Certainly there was a possibility she could choke in her sleep. That, he would not allow. He would have to stay here for the night.

He looked at her more closely and could see that she was deeply embraced by the mists of dream. Standing up from his chair, he silently removed a glove and leaned over towards Maria. He inhaled deeply, and gently ran his hand through her silky blonde hair. It was far softer to the touch than he had expected, but Maria had made two requests of him, and although they were both particularly embarrassing, he had decided not to be unreasonable. Gently, he placed a soft kiss upon Maria's forehead, praying to whatever power would listen that she would not awake as he did so. As he withdrew and slipped the glove back over his hand, he sat down to his vigil and whispered softly.

"Good night, Maria, may you sleep well."


End file.
